During a colonoscopy, a nurse must control looping of a colonoscope advanced by the physician. The nurse presses on the patient's abdomen at suspected loop sites. See “The Importance of Abdominal Pressure during Colonoscopy: Techniques To Assist The Physician And To Minimize Injury To The Patient And Assistant,” Gastroenterology Nursing, Vol. 28 (3), May/June 2005, p 232-236 incorporated herein by this reference.
As a result, musculoskeletal injuries are prevalent in endoscopy nurses. See Gastroenterology Nursing, Vol. 34, No. 1, January/February 2011 (p 26-33) also incorporated herein by this reference.
Those skilled in the art have attempted to make it easier to compress the patient's abdomen. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,685,321 and 6,672,311 and published U.S. Patent Application No. 2011/0087263 disclose bladders located in a worn garment. To our knowledge, none of these devices have been commercialized nor are they in wide spread use. European patent specification EP 0 792 130 B1 discloses a rubber ovoid shaped body with an anchoring protuberance used as a “straightener.”
Despite such prior art, nurses continue to suffer musculoskeletal injuries.